Kayhan Space rolls out Pathfinder spaceflight safety software. Photo: Kayhan

Kayhan Space is launching a new spaceflight safety platform, Pathfinder, the company announced Aug. 9. The platform aims to enable satellite and mission operators to manage operational risks and make preemptive maneuvers based on precision analytics to avoid conjunctions in space.

Capella Space, Globalstar, and Lynk Global are among an initial group of operators using the subscription-based, autonomous Pathfinder platform. The company previously had beta deployments of the software, and officially rolled out Pathfinder for general availability last week.

The software utilizes proprietary advanced algorithms along with precise space catalog data, the operators’ GPS positioning signals, propulsion capabilities, and flight plans to simulate, coordinate, and generate optimal maneuver options in the event of a potential oncoming collision threat or conjunction.

Araz Feyzi, Kayhan Space co-founder and CTO, told Via Satellite the software is designed to enable a wide range of satellites with different capabilities to perform avoidance maneuvers. Pathfinder works with satellites within technical constraints like propulsion capability and ground station availability, physical constraints, and operational constraints within organizations.

“As soon as an event comes up, we have all that information [about the capability of the satellite], so our algorithms quickly come up with maneuver plans that are feasible for that spacecraft,” Feyzi said. “Every time there’s a potential collision event, we automatically really quickly produce a maneuver that you can use. That’s a big deal because a lot of times a lot of maneuvers won’t work because of all these small constraints.”

Feyzi said during customer demonstrations over the past few weeks, Pathfinder was able to reduce the risk of collision by two orders of magnitude.

“We believe that all of this needs to be on autopilot. Your mission is not to avoid collisions — your mission is whatever your mission is, [whether] you’re Earth observation, communication, or exploration,” Feyzi said. “We want to help satellite operators put all of their spaceflight safety functions on autopilot and have a peace of mind that it’s taken care of.”